The timeline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a topic that has long occupied fans. “Secret Invasion” also raises the question: when is the series set? And where are the Avengers while a Skrull invasion is currently underway?
As with pretty much all MCU films and series after “Avengers: Endgame”, “Secret Invasion” again raises the question: When exactly is the new Marvel series actually set? It is clear that “Secret Invasion” must take place after “Captain Marvel” from 1995 and after “Spider-Man: Far From Home”, because here Soren, the wife of Skrull leader Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) was still alive. In “Secret Invasion”, on the other hand, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) returns to Earth because Soren has died and he wants to stand by his friend Talos.
On Disney+, “Secret Invasion” is also chronologically the newest MCU entry*, i.e. after “Ant-Man And The Wasp Quantumania”. But what does that mean exactly for the chronological sequences in the MCU and in “Secret Invasion”? We asked director Ali Selim about it and also wanted to know where the Avengers actually are right now:
FILMSTARTS: There are some allusions and hints in the first two episodes that the Avengers are away. Can you say anything about when the series is set, where the Avengers are, and what they’re doing right now?
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Ali Selim: “Secret Invasion” is set in 2023 and as far as I know, the Avengers in the MCU were already more or less unofficially disbanded in 2014. So Nick hasn’t had access to the Avengers since the blip and his absence [his holiday in space]. But that also helps the story: this is Nick Fury’s story and for that it’s good that he’s alone. The absence of the Avengers makes him a gunslinger like John Wayne or Clint Eastwood. It puts him in the spotlight.
“SECRET INVASION” IN 2023 – CAN IT BE?
“Secret Invasion” is therefore set in the year 2023 – a very interesting revelation, after all, many fan theories assume that the action present in the MCU has now arrived in the year 2025/2026. But that doesn’t mean that “Secret Invasion” takes a step back in time – after all, according to these fan theories, the aforementioned “Spider-Man: Far From Home” takes place in 2024, so something doesn’t add up.
More likely, Ali Selim’s statement refers to the official, internal Marvel timeline, which differs from the timeline concocted by fans. Perhaps the book “Marvel Timelines: The Visual Chronicle of the Marvel Cinematic Universe”, which will be published in English* in October 2023 and in German in November 2023, will help and should finally make the timelines in the MCU official.
